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Roots, Prefixes and Suffixes/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby. Moby is in a yard. He is using a magnifying glass to look at rocks. Tim approaches Moby. TIM: What you doin'? MOBY: Beep. TIM: You want to study geology? I thought you were studying biology? And two weeks ago it was Greek mythology. Pick an "-ology!" Tim holds up a piece of paper. Tim is heard reading from a typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim & Moby, I just don’t understand prefixes and suffixes at all. Please help. From Pat. Words can be broken down into different parts — roots, prefixes, and suffixes. A root is the essential part of the word, and it can't be broken down into any smaller parts. A prefix is a part of the word that goes before the root. And suffixes come after the root. Text reads: root. An animation shows the text "prefix" enter the screen and land before the text "root". An animation shows the text "suffix" enter the screen and land after the text "root". MOBY: Beep? TIM: How do you know what all the parts mean? Well, mostly it comes with practice. Prefixes and suffixes have definitions, just like root words. Let's look at the word dehydration. The prefix is de-, the root is hydro, and the suffix is –tion. De- is a common prefix that means "lack of." "Hydra," the root word, comes from the Greek word for water. And "-tion" here means something like, uh, like "a state of being." So if you put it all together you can figure out the meaning of the word dehydration: a state in which something or someone lacks water. Let's look at another example. Unpleasantness. An image shows a building. Two long pipes run from the building. Green liquid is exiting each pipe. The liquid is pouring into a puddle of brown sludge. Text appears over the image. The text reads: unpleasantness. TIM: The prefix is "un-," which means not. Un is a very common prefix that we see in a lot of words — uncommon, unlikely, undecided, unclear. "Pleasant" is the root word. "-ness" is the suffix, which means "state of." So unpleasantness means the state of not being pleasant! Adding a prefix or suffix to a root word changes its meaning and often its part of speech. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Well, adding the prefix "un-" changes the meaning of "pleasant" to mean its opposite. Adding the suffix "-ness" changes the word “pleasant” from an adjective into a noun! The video changes back to the image of the building. Text appears over the image. The text reads: pleasant. The prefix "in" appears before the text "pleasant." The prefix "in" disappears and the suffix "ness" appears at the end of the text "pleasant." MOBY: Beep? TIM: Well, no, not all words are made up of all three parts. Here’s another word — it has only two parts. Biology. An image shows a tree. Surrounding the tree are a goose, a fish, a beetle, mushrooms, a cell, plankton, a plant, and a buffalo. The text "Biology" covers the image. TIM: The root is "bio," which comes from the Greek word for life; "-ology" or "-logy" is a suffix that means "the study of." So "biology" means the study of life! A lot of prefixes and suffixes come from Greek and Latin words. If you learn what some of them mean, you can figure out definitions of words you thought you didn't know! Common prefixes like "anti-," "co-," "pre-," and "auto-," are easy to spot. And some common suffixes are "-ist," "-ism," "-er," "-able," and "-ful." Thinking of a bunch of words that contain the same prefix or suffix can help you figure out its meaning. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Well, let's think of some words that end in "–er." Gardener, runner, recorder. A gardener is someone who gardens, a runner is someone who runs, a recorder is a machine that records things! So I guess when a verb has "–er" at the end, it’s describing someone or something that performs the verb's action. The screen is divided into three equal sections. In the top section, an image shows a woman wearing a large-brimmed hat. Text reads; gardener. The "garden" portion of the text is highlighted. In the middle section, an image shows a woman running. Text reads; runner. The "run" portion of the text is highlighted. In the bottom section, an image shows a cassette player. Text reads; recorder. The "record" portion of the text is highlighted. TIM: But a prefix or suffix might not always mean the same thing. For example, when you add "–er" to the end of an adjective, it means "more" like in bigger, faster, or brighter. The screen is divided into three equal sections. In the top section, an image shows a large man. Text reads; bigger. An image of a larger man appears next to the text. In the middle section, an image shows a rabbit. Text reads; faster. An image of a car appears next to the text. In the bottom section, an image shows a light bulb. Text reads; brighter. An image of the sun appears next to the text. TIM: Hey, why are you looking at my head? Moby is using a magnifying glass to analyze Tim's head. TIM: What, do you want to study phrenology now? MOBY: Beep. TIM: Timology? Yeah, uh, I don't think that's a real word. Moby leans in for a closer look. Tim sighs. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts Category:BrainPOP English Transcripts